Audit & Accounting

Pension fund disclosures will soon look more like those of other post-employment benefits under a new statement issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.Statement 50, Pension Disclosures, amends Statement 25, on reporting on defined-benefit pension plans, and Statement 27, on accounting for pensions by governmental employers. The amendments make disclosures under those two statements consistent with the requirements of Statements 43, on reporting OPEB, and 45, on reporting on OPEB by governmental employers.

Think you've come up with a perfect tax strategy for your high-end clients? Before you go ahead with it, you might want to check if it's been patented. You're liable to be sued for patent infringement if someone else thought of it first.It all started in 1998, when a federal appeals court ruled that business methods could be patented. Since then, more than 60 tax-strategy patents have been granted, and 86 more are pending. And the first infringement suit has been filed over the SOGRAT patent.

One way to judge which are the most significant provisions in the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007 - signed by President Bush on May 25, 2007, as part of a larger bill focused on war funding - is to look at which provisions are projected to cost the most or to raise the most revenue.The tax breaks included in this legislation are fully paid for with revenue increases. The main premise behind the legislation is that small business should receive some tax breaks to help offset the cost of being required to pay workers more due to the minimum wage increase. It would be a rare small business that finds that the cost of increasing the minimum wage for its workers is fully offset by the tax breaks included in the legislation.

Two auditing standards boards and an association of accounting academics are moving forward with a research project that could lead to significant changes in the content and phrasing of audit reports, perhaps even in the procedure of the audit itself.Concerned that investors and others may be misinterpreting the typical three-paragraph audit report, the boards are seeking a better understanding of what people think they're reading. In many cases, according to the American Institute of CPAs' director of auditing and attestation, Chuck Landes, some readers of audit reports are apparently seeing things that aren't there.

Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell vetoed a bill passed by the state legislature that would have allowed Connecticut to set its own accounting standards to balance the budget.

Here’s something that may be of interest to you.As you know, there are all sorts of lists out there ranging from Accounting Today’s most influential people in accounting to Practical Accountant’s regional survey of accounting firms to CPA Wealth Provider’s financial planning annual awards of excellence.

A Greenville, S.C. federal judge has permanently barred Robert Barnwell Clarkson and his "Patriot Network" from promoting tax fraud schemes, the Justice Department announced. The court found that Clarkson falsely instructed Patriot Network members that they need not file federal income tax returns, and helped members obstruct Internal Revenue Service efforts to collect taxes. In seeking the permanent injunction, the Justice Department submitted Clarkson's Untaxing Packet, which he sold for $300. The packet contained form letters that he falsely claimed would exempt purchases from federal tax laws. Papers filed in the case showed that Clarkson boasted that he "untaxed" more than 8,000 people over 30 years. The court detailed Clarkson's efforts at interfering with tax collection, including his instruction to transfer property to nominees and to sue IRS agents who attempt to collect taxes. Clarkson, a disbarred attorney from Anderson, S.C., has twice been convicted of federal tax-related crimes. The court ordered Clarkson to give copies of the injunction to people who bought his products and to post the injunction on the Patriot Network Web site.

The Internal Revenue Service has redesigned Form 8857, Request for Innocent Spouse Relief, to help reduce follow up questions and taxpayer burden. The form will ask more questions initially, but collecting critical information early in the process will allow faster processing of the request. The IRS says that the new design will eliminate an estimated 30,000 follow-up letters annually, resulting in a reduced burden and quicker answer for taxpayers and less cost for the government. When a taxpayer files a joint return, both spouses are jointly and individually responsible for the tax. If one taxpayer believes that only his or her spouse or former spouse should be responsible for the tax, the taxpayer can request innocent spouse relief. The redesigned form will be easier to understand and to complete and will help educate taxpayers about the process. Previously, the questionnaire was separate from the form.

The Center for Audit Quality, a group affiliated with the American Institute of CPAs, will host a panel discussion featuring former Sen. Paul Sarbanes and former Rep. Michael Oxley to mark the fifth anniversary of signing Sarbanes-Oxley into law. Scheduled for July 30 at the National Press Club, additional speakers include SEC Chair Christopher Cox, former SEC Chairs William Donaldson and Harvey Pitt, Mark Olson, Chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and former PCAOB Chairman William McDonough. For further information, call (202) 609-8291 or e-mail info@thecaq.org.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has reappointed Daniel Goelzer to a second five-year term at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Prior to joining the PCAOB in 2002, Goelzer spent seven years as general counsel at the SEC. He is also a CPA and was an auditor at Touche Ross, the predecessor firm to Deloitte & Touche. SEC chairman Christopher Cox said that Goelzer "brings broad perspective to the board through his substantial experience as a regulator and practitioner. We are fortunate that he is willing to serve the nation, investors, and our markets in this capacity."